Swimming pools have long presented a hazard to small children when not in use. In addition, and especially in back yards of limited size, swimming pools occupy a large proportion of the available space. Covers for swimming pools have been proposed in the past. However, such covers have never enjoyed any substantial commercial success, probably because they cannot be easily maneuvered to a closed and to an open position, and because they tend to become jammed, or otherwise inoperable. However, swimming pool covers have continued to be desirable, both from a safety factor, and also as a means for maintaining heat in the pool water during cool days and nights.
As far as is presently known, no pool covers have been proposed in the past which are readily movable from a position over the pool to a position displaced from the pool, and which are in the form of a rigid structure capable of supporting weight, and capable of serving as a deck when in either the closed or open positions.
The foregoing is a particular feature of the cover of the present invention. Moreover, an equally important feature is the fact that the cover can be moved quickly between its two positions merely by the operation of a simple control. Another important feature of the cover assembly of the invention is that the deck member cannot fall when raised to its upper position should power fail, so that the overall assembly is absolutely safe.